After a season of ups & downs, no play-off implications, and hope for the future of Panther football…the season closer will be formality and try-outs for next season. Team Panthers end their season in the Super Dome against the NFC south division leading Saints. What more can be said about Drew Brees and the Saints season? …Super Bowl 46 champions? …We will see, but for the moment  let’s back up a few weeks to this Sunday’s game where Carolina will finish out their season 7 & 9 OR 6 & 10. Either way the score board ends, the Panther have to give themselves a Hi-5 for faring better than their previous record low season.

The game break down has the Saints with a slight marginal lead over the Panthers, but numbers and predictions mean nothing when team Panthers show up with victory on their minds. With talks of Brees limiting his play time in this weeks game the Panthers defense can’t take that as reason to play “less” or slack against the Saints offense. It’s up to the Panthers’ D to limit the number of points and control New Orleans’ field position, by NOT allowing 3rd down conversions and  stopping run game.  Seems pretty straight forward, but Brees has broken the single season PASSING record so Carolina’s Defense has to put themselves in position to blitz, sack,create turn-overs and/or intercept any ball flying through the Super Dome.

It is expected that Newton and the Panther offense will put up big numbers and entertain while displaying all that is SUPER-CAM, but it is imperative that the offense take care of the ball, limit penalties, and convert 3rd downs…THE ENTIRE GAME. The Panthers seem to get themselves into trouble jumping out  to an early lead in the game and celebrate prematurely. The focus has to be on completing the game and ending the season with ONE MORE WIN!

16 weeks into the season and fans don’t know what to expect! Green Bay caught a “L” , the Colts have won TWO GAMES !!! …withOut Peyton Manning. What can I say? This Christmas, nice guys aren’t the only ones receiving gifts!!! So uptown Charlotte isn’t dreaming of a white Christmas all we want is for team Panthers to continue to spread holiday cheer with another victory against division rival Tampa Bay.

This game holds no play-off implication, no high ranking draft pick, it’s all about bragging rights! Neither team wants to be dead last in the division, so the Bucs look to avenge their spot this Saturday in the Bank of America Stadium. Team Panthers have to play great football EVERY minute of the game clock (without turnover & penalties) to avoid sliding to the bottom. If Cam and the Offense bring their 4th quarter poise and the defense causes some Carolina action Saturday will truly be the most wonderful time of the year!

Happy Holidays Panther & all NFL Fans!

On the 8th day of Christmas the NFL gave to me…a win in Reliant Stadium! Team Panthers delivered a little holiday cheer to Panther nation by returning Uptown with a huge victory against the Houston Texans and their number one NFL defense. It was obvious that the Panthers didn’t give a Jingle-Bell about the Texans status because the Carolina defense was on a mission to destroy all things Texans, and did so by causing Arian Foster to fumble 2 plays into the game, the perfect set up for Cam Newton to unwrap Steve Smith into the End-Zone and jump out to an early lead.

Panther fans were very excited, but didn’t want to drink the Egg-Nogg just yet! It seemed as if the Carolina Defense had taken a page (or 10) out of the Texans play-book because they were able to hold the rookie QB and Texans offense to no scoring drives the entire first half forcing another turnover and limiting Houston to punts. Their high level of play transcended to the Offense who, although had a few disturbing penalties, converted 3rd downs with the help of Steve Smith and found their way into the End-Zone two more times before the end of the half.

*Very tempting to take a sip of what the Panthers were brewing.*

In previous weeks similar Carolina scenarios have played out to the other teams’ advantage, but with Christmas on its way the Panthers were poised to deliver a smack down to the Texans…with a lil Carolina sauce on the sidelines. The 3rd quarter was the best 15 minutes of Houston Texans football all game. The Texans got their running game going and Arian Foster found his way to the End-Zone. It seemed like the Houston was rallying back to reclaim their territory, but Newton and the Panthers stood strong and remained composed. The defense sealed the deal with a last minute goal-line interception and the game was officially in the BAG!!! The AFC South verses the NFC South was quite a southern show down, Merry Christmas Team Panthers!

What more can be said about team Panthers and SuperMan Cam Newton. The game that was SUPPOSE to be in the Panther bag started with Atlanta and Carolina trading single touchdowns for the 1st quarter. Rody White & Jeremy Shockey got the TDs for their respective teams. Other than the opening Falcon TD, the game looked to be all about the Panthers. Early in the 2nd quarter the Panthers Defense forced the Falcons 3 & out and the Panthers responded with a play-drive that resulted in a mid-field punt.  Antwon Applewhite delivers Matt Ryan not only a sack, but his 1st career safety which gave the Panthers a two point lead mid-way through the half. And the BEST way to follow up that play was for DeAngelo Williams to run the opening play drive 74 yards for a Carolina TOUCHDOWN!!! WOW.It  looked like the Panthers  found their stride. The game was destined for some heat and Greg Olsen made the game explode with a 44 yard score of his own! This is the BEST Carolina looked as a complete team ALL SEASON! …and it ended just as quick as it started…

By the start of the second half Atlanta made it apparent that they were not gonna roll over and let the game be given to the Panthers…hey, these guys were playing for a spot in the play-offs! The Panthers offense started the half 3 and out, good thing the defense was still heated from the first half and manage to hold the Falcons to 3 points on their drive. Cam’s rookie tendency showed its face as he turned-over the ball to give the Falcons excellent field possession. Two plays and 31 yards later the Falcons convert the interception into a touchdown and bring the Carolina lead to six points. Mid-way through the 3^rd quarter to Panthers look to their old ways of penalties and turnover. Newton threw his 2^nd interception and the Falcons strike again and take their 1^stlead of the game. What happen to SuperMan? Did the Falcons have creptonite on reserve for the 2nd half, because it was all about  Atlanta  for the remainder of the game.  The Falcons outscore the Panthers 31 to nothing in the second half  and come up with the win in both Division games this season. …nothing else can be said about the self-defeating Panthers.

With no play-off chances this season, team Panthers look to upset  the records of the remainder of the rivalries of the schedule. Next-up on the the agenda…the Atlanta Falcons fly uptown. Panther fans should be excited to see this division rematch because Carolina has made changes and adjustments since the tow teams last met in week 6 of the season. Carolina looks to finish what they started down in the “A” 8 weeks ago. The Falcons bring their game to the Queen city where the Panthers look to dazzle the home crowd. The best way to keep the Falcons out of the End-Zone is to get Steve Smith in the game. He’s been relatively quiet the past few weeks, but with the season coming to an end the Panthers offense looks to get  their veteran star receiver in on some home field play-action. The Panthers finally have all the pieces in place to to win games, so this Southern show-down will be a GREAT way to close out the last quarter of the season.

This week in Panthers football news, team Panthers strike  early with SuperMan Cam Newton getting in the end-zone to put Carolina up 7-0 on top of the throw-back jersey wearing Buccaneers. It was obvious early on that the Panthers offense not only came to win but  to have some fun and Newton’s infectious smile permeated not only the Panthers but their opponents couldn’t help but feel it.  The Panthers not only scored (touchdowns) on their opening two drives but the defense decided to show a little love to game and keep the Bucs out of the endzone…sadly Newton ended the 1st quarter getting sacked on two consecutive plays. That was the only mistakes made by the Panthers offense the entire game.

By the start of the second quarter Tampa’s offense had better settled into their game and ran the ball well against the Carolina D but only got 3 points out of the play drive. Panther fans were super happy that after 8 plays/80 yards  and a season of hiccups, Mr. Butter-fingers aka Lagedu Naanee got his 1st touchdown of the season to put the Panthers up 21-6 mid-way through the first half. Tampa didn’t roll over and hand the game to the Panthers, they continued to get field goal points which kept them in the game. Carolina proved too much in the 1st half and headed into the 3rd quarter with a 24-12 lead .

The Bucs started the 2nd half moving the ball well against the Panthers D,  until Keiser came up with a HUGE Carolina interception to keep Tampa from closing in on the Panthers lead. Newton and the offense made great use of that interception to get inside the red-zone within 3 plays and two plays later Newton ties the league record for rushing TDs by a quarterback. Good things continued to happen on the defensive side of the ball with the Panthers doing a MUCH better job at tackling and limiting the Bucs to field goals points and punts. Tampa frustration began to show late in the third quarter which is always a good thing for Panthers football.

The one thing Tampa DID manage to accomplish was containing Steve Smith, which proved frustrating to veteran Panther number 89. Good thing Newton had many other receivers and backs that could get Carolina in the endzone…but that didn’t satisfy Newton! He rushed for another touchdown midway through the 4th quarter and NOW holds the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarter back! Talk about history in the making!!! With that said, the Panthers continued their assassination of Bucs  position in the conference. Tampa continued to play hard and managed to score a touchdown late in the game, but the Panthers double digit lead kept the game completely out of reach. Great ball control, no turnovers, hard defense and limited penalties on the Panthers earned them their 2nd straight road win and make a strong NFC south statement. Christmas has come early to Panther Nation! Next up the dirty birds fly uptown.

Newton completes the day with 3 touchdowns

Sunday Sunday Sunday….these days it seems like Panther fans don’t have much to sing about on the best most relaxing day of the week. With their recent win against the Colts the team is looking to pull itself up from the bottom of their division Heep!

Carolina travels to Tampa Bay for a classic division show down. The two teams always play each other well and with the Bucs having home field advantage the Panthers will have to deliver fewer penalties and turnover for any chance at beating team Tampa! Both teams like to run the ball so the Panthers strategy will have to be more clever to keep the Bucs defense off balance.

With both teams looking to improve upon their seasonal records this bottoms up battle  will not should not disappoint. The Panthers have made progress toward orchestrating a defense that is effective, which is extremely important when playing Tampa. Carolina will have to check their emotions Uptown and keep penalties from plaguing their game plan. All in all the game will be entertaining and the Panthers WILL return to the Queen City victorious over the Bucs!

So in this week’s episode of Panthers Ball, Carolina managed to get win three against the win-less Colts and halt their 12 road-game loosing streak. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t easy, but the Panthers did not loose nor did they beat themselves.

The Panthers offense got hot early in the game and stayed heated. Newton added to his personal best with rushing TD #10 on the season. DeAngelo Williams had his best game of the year with two touchdowns. The offensive line controlled the tempo of the game and took good care of the ball, with few mistakes, penalties, and turnovers….it didn’t hurt that they were playing against the worst defense in the league. Brandon LaFell was utilized effectively throughout the game allowing the offense to mix-it-up and keep play-drives alive. Jonathan Stewart has been the secret weapon of the offense. Steve Smith and Jeremy Shockey made some unlikely/costly mistakes and penalties, but the damage wasn’t bad enough to hurt the outcome of the game.

The Carolina D- made some mistakes, missed some tackles, but when the game was on the line they came up BIG to keep from being the week 12 joke of the league. Indiana’s offense keep them on their toes and was able to get huge chunks of yards across mid-field, but the Panthers’ Defense came up with two interceptions and manage to  hold the Colts  to fewer touchdowns and field goals than team Panthers offense.

Fewer penalties, better clock management and a team with no victories on the season all contributed to the 3rd win of the Panthers season. Carolina got a much needed confidence jolt with Sunday’s win and showed that all areas of their game have improved. Next Sunday the team takes on conference foe Tampa Bay Bucs. Until Sunday…Congratulations Gentleman on game well WON!

Sunday the Panthers take their 2&8 brand of football to Indianapolis to take on the 0&10 Colts. It’s late in the season and neither of these teams will see the light of a post season, so fans and organizations a like are looking to the draft for what will/can happen for both squads NEXT year. In the mean-time in between-time the teams meet for a  showdown of the bottom of the league.

The Panthers may be the first team in 11 games to loose to the Colts…if they are not able to balance both sides of the ball. On offense Newton and and his arsenal of receivers have to take care of the ball and convert 3rd downs into points. The more time the Panthers offense is on the field the better chance the Defense has at not tiring before the 3rd quarter. Speaking of D, all the changes in the starting line-up can NOT be an excuse to play poorly, miss tackles or allow the Colts to have long passes or rushing yards across mid-field.  Add a little help from the Panthers Special Teams and the Panthers just might come away with a Win.

Once upon a time there was an amazing football team that lived and played Uptown Charlotte at the Bank of America Stadium. The team had players that could run and catch a football and some of them were really good at tackling other teams that came to play. They were so amazing that they went to a Super Bowl to play…that story has now turned into legend and the team now sits very close to the bottom of the league!

So the Panthers took their cat fight to the Lions’ den and got devoured by a team relentless in their pursuit of victory. The Panthers started the game forcing turnovers and creating scoring opportunities. Carolina would finish the game in the same fashion…just to the advantage of Detroit. The Panthers season is over at this point, playing the remainder of the season is simply a formality. The Panthers are so much better than their 2&8 record but the same mistakes have the team in a holding (loosing) pattern that they appear to buy into. The Panthers take on the Colts in week 12 and no matter how the game is predicted the Panther must believe they can win for it to happen.